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FERS Eligibility

FERS Retirement Benefits

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The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
became effective January 1, 1987. All Federal civilian employees hired
after this date are covered under FERS. FERS retirement eligibility is based on
your years of service and minimum retirement age (MRA).

FERS retirement plans provide benefits from a combination of the
Basic Benefit Plan,
Social Security and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
If you leave federal service before retiring Social Security and the TSP
can go with you to your next job. Both the Basic Benefit plan and Social
Security require you to pay into the system each payday. Agencies
withhold the cost of these plans as payroll deductions plus your agency
pays its share too. After retirement you are entitled to a monthly
annuity for life. If you leave federal service before you reach full
retirement age and have a minimum of 5 years FERS service you can elect
to take a deferred retirement. FERS retirement benefits are very
generous and far exceed what most private companies offer today. To
determine your FERS retirement eligibility review the FERS eligibility
charts on this page.

FERS also includes the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) that is automatically
set up for you when first hired. Agencies deposit 1% of the basic pay
each payday into your account. Your agency will match up to 5% of your
contributions and contributions are tax-deferred.

Congress created the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) in 1986, and
it became effective on January 1, 1987. Since that time, new Federal civilian
employees who have retirement coverage are covered by FERS. The FERS
plan consists of three parts:

Employees pay Social Security taxes and contribute to the Basic Benefit Plan.
Additionally, your agency contributes an amount equal to 1% of your basic pay
into your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account. You are able to make tax-deferred
contributions to the TSP and a portion is matched by the Government. The
elective deferral limit for 2010 and 2009 is $16,500.

Eligibility is determined by your age and number of years of creditable
service. In some cases, you must have reached the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA)
to receive retirement benefits. Use the following chart to figure your minimum
retirement age.

Minimum Retirement Age

If you were born

Your MRA is

Before 1948

55

1948

55 and 2 months

1949

55 and 4 months

1950

55 and 6 months

1951

55 and 8 months

1952

55 and 10 months

1953 - 1964

56

1965

56 and 2 months

1966

56 and 4 months

1967

56 and 6 months

1968

56 and 9 months

1969

56 and 10 months

1970 and after

57

Immediate - Immediate retirement benefits start within 30 days from the date
you stop working. If you meet one of the following sets of age and service
requirements, you are entitled to an immediate retirement benefit:

AGE

Years Service

62

5

60

20

MRA

30

MRA

10

If you retire at the MRA with at least 10, but less than 30 years of service,
your benefit will be reduced by 5 percent a year for each year you are under 62,
unless you have 20 years of service and your benefit starts when you reach age
60 or later.

The early retirement benefit is available in certain involuntary separation
cases and in cases of voluntary separations during a major reorganization or
reduction in force. To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements:

Refers to delayed payment of benefit until criteria are met, as follows:
If you leave Federal service before you meet the age and service requirements
for an immediate retirement benefit, you may be eligible for deferred retirement
benefits. To be eligible, you must have completed at least 5 years of creditable
civilian service. You may receive benefits when you reach one of the following
ages:

AGE

Years Service

62

5

60

20

MRA

30

MRA

10

If you retire at the MRA with at least 10, but less than 30 years of service,
your benefit will be reduced by 5 percent a year for each year you are under 62,
unless you have 20 years of service and your benefit starts when you reach age
60 or later.

NOTE: Use the first business day of the month
following your 62nd birthday for the commencing date on your application.
All benefits are retro-active to that date. If you neglected to apply at
age 62 you will receive a lump sum payment for the time between the
commencing date and the date you apply. For example, if you apply at age 65
you would receive a lump sum payment for 3 yrs.

Many leave federal service for the private sector and often forget about
their FERS contributions and annuity. If you worked for the civil service or
postal service for at least five years before leaving, and didn't withdraw your
funds, you can either collect a FERS annuity at the ages specified in the
above chart as early as age 60 with 20 years service or
age 62 with 5 years of service or accept a lump sum payment. The annuity is
computed as a regular FERS annuity, see:
http://www.federalretirement.net/fers_annuity.htm to estimate your monthly
payment.

To collect your deferred annuity complete
OPM form R1-92-19
(Revised May 2012) and
send it to the address listed on the form.
The form has 9 pages of detailed instructions and general information about
eligibility and payments, print it out for detailed guidance. Contact OPM directly
if you need assistance or to obtain a copy of this form with your service dates.
The first part of the form is completed by OPM and includes a summary of your
federal service. To estimate the amount of the FERS annuity and/or the amount of the refund of
the retirement contributions go to the FERS annuity
page. There is no reason to delay applying for the
annuity beyond your eligibility date as determined by your MRA, age 60 or 62. If you withdraw the funds, consider placing the money in a Roth or Traditional IRA with potential
for growth. If you decide on the FERS annuity - the
annuity will not increase by
waiting beyond the date you are first eligibility for the annuity.

OPM advises that to apply for deferred retirement
benefits, wait until 60 days prior to your eligibility date as
listed above in the table and then contact
OPM for an “Application for Deferred Retirement”. OPM can be reached
by calling toll-free 1 (888) 767-6738, or writing to: Office of Personnel
Management, PO Box 45, Boyers, PA 16017.

All requests need to include your name, other names used while employed,
current mailing address, Social Security number, date of birth, dates of
service, and, the retirement system you contributed to, if known. If you
choose to use e-mail, please keep in mind that there are risks associated
with sending personal information over non-secure networks on the Internet.
Contact OPM for assistance.

If a former federal employee dies before collecting the deferred
annuity the surviving spouse is eligible to receive 50% of their annuity
payable starting on the date the deceased employee attained the age and
service requirements for the annuity. Lesser amounts are payable if the
surviving spouse wants to collect earlier. Review the process above and
contact OPM to initiate your
annuity.

QUESTION: The annuity section states that employees at
62 and over with 20 years experience use a factor of 1.1% to determine
their annuity. Does this mean that if I work 40 years but retire under
the age of 62 I am only entitled to use a factor of 1.0%? This seems
illogical.

Answer: You are correct. You must be 62 or
older with at least 20 years of service for the 1.1% calculation to
apply. Keep in mind that these laws are written by Congress and
logic has never been a requirement. However, the difference is
likely because the FERS annuity supplement only applies for those who
retire younger than age 62. For more information on the FERS
annuity supplement see:

QUESTION: If I leave service after 20 years but don't
start to collect (i.e.,
defer the collection of my annuity) until 62 would I be entitled to the
1.1% factor?

QUESTION: I am presently 48 with 23 years service (my
MRA would be 56 and 30 years) and I would like to quit and do something
outside of the government. Will I lose any retirement benefits and if
not, when could or should I start
collecting the annuity?

QUESTION: I have 30 years service at age 52 and would
like to retire. How will this impact my benefits.

Answer: Unfortunately, you are not eligible to retire until you reach
the minimum retirement age (MRA). If you leave prior to your MRA with
30 years of service, you would be eligible to apply for a deferred
retirement when you reach the MRA, but with a deferred retirement you
will not be eligible for the FERS supplement, life insurance or health
benefits. Another factor to consider is that that you would not receive
an annual COLA until you actually start your deferred retirement.

If you wait to retire at your MRA, and you have had Federal Employee
Health Benefit (FEHB) coverage for the past five years, then you can
continue FEHB into retirement at the same rate paid by federal
employees.